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Unit of study_

CISS6016: Chinese Foreign and Security Policy

2025 unit information

China's rise to regional and global prominence has attracted growing attention in recent years. Scholars as well as policy-makers debate and assess the implications of rising Chinese power for regional security and the international system. This seminar introduces students to Chinese foreign and security policy including its handling of major-power relations, its active pursuit of multilateral diplomacy in regional organizations and participation in international peace-keeping operations and its changing perspectives on arms control disarmament and non-proliferation. It begins with a brief history of phases in Chinese foreign and security policy and then gives an overview of major theoretical approaches to the subject. These theoretical perspectives are useful in examining a wide range of policy issues ranging from Chinese strategic modernization, security trends in the Taiwan Strait, civil-military relations, the Chinese foreign policy process and the domestic sources of Chinese foreign and security policy. The unit is taught as a seminar with students expected to write a book review, a research design and bibliography and a final research paper. Students will be required to do assigned reading, participate actively in class discussions, make oral presentations of their book review and research paper and serve as a discussant for one of their classmate's papers.

Unit details and rules

Managing faculty or University school:

Arts and Social Sciences

Study level Postgraduate
Academic unit Government and International Relations
Credit points 6
Prerequisites:
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None
Corequisites:
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None
Prohibitions:
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None
Assumed knowledge:
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None

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

  • LO1. Learn about Chinese perspectives on international relations, global and regional security, and China’s role as a rising power in a changing international system.
  • LO2. Understand how Chinese culture and history influence Chinese policies, negotiating strategies, and thinking about foreign policy and security issues.
  • LO3. Develop the ability to use different international relations theories to examine/explain Chinese foreign policy decisions and outcomes.

Unit availability

This section lists the session, attendance modes and locations the unit is available in. There is a unit outline for each of the unit availabilities, which gives you information about the unit including assessment details and a schedule of weekly activities.

The outline is published 2 weeks before the first day of teaching. You can look at previous outlines for a guide to the details of a unit.

Session MoA ?  Location Outline ? 
Semester 2 2024
Normal day Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Session MoA ?  Location Outline ? 
Session 1 Early Census 2025
Normal day Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Outline unavailable
Session MoA ?  Location Outline ? 
Semester 2 2022
Normal day Remote
Semester 2 2023
Normal day Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

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Modes of attendance (MoA)

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